ACTF News

ACTF News

Second series of award-winning First Day now available
Jun 06, 2022
Second series of award-winning First Day now available

A four-part sequel to the Emmy Award winning first series First Day is now available to educators via the ACTF Shop.

In Series 1 of First Day, transgender girl Hannah Bradford navigates the challenges that come with starting a new school and finds the courage to live as her most authentic self. The ACTF’s Teaching Toolkit explores key themes in this series, helping students to prepare for, process, and reflect on their own transitions to secondary school.

Series 2 continues Hannah’s story, depicting her second year at Hillview. Hannah’s run for Class Captain exposes an underlying level of transphobia among her classmates. She starts a group for LGBTQIA+ students but risks alienating her closest friends in the process.

Writer/Director Julie Kalceff and Producer Kirsty Stark said the new series again represents issues that will resonate with both secondary students and teachers.

"First Day Season 2 explores universal themes and storylines such as friendship, relationships, dating, microaggressions, and the importance of finding your tribe," they told the ACTF. "While Hannah is the protagonist of the story, the challenges she faces aren’t restricted to those of a transgender girl navigating high school but are relevant to all students. The series is an opportunity for teachers and students to discuss these issues, find ways to navigate them, and learn how to be a better ally." 

Teachers, download Series 2 to follow Hannah’s story in your classroom.   

See also:

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New to the shop: Mandarin language content for F-2 audiences

Children identify with the characters, settings and events in locally produced content partly because these are known and familiar. Mandarin language teachers, why not leverage this prior knowledge and introduce these Mandarin versions of Australian series to your junior classes?
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NITV kids’ content for primary classrooms

Teachers looking to explore and celebrate First Nations history, cultures and perspectives during Reconciliation Week will find quality children’s programming on our national Indigenous channel, NITV. 
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What's On TV? Monday 23 May - Sunday 29 May

Never miss a moment of your favourite Australian children’s television series. Visit our guide for more information about what’s on free-to-air and pay TV.